In the alcoholic beverage serving industry, bartenders are employed to serve alcoholic beverages. Generally, bartenders are professionals who prepare alcoholic beverages for patrons in the service and restaurant industry. At least in the United States (US), distilled spirits and/or liquors are often measured in terms of a ‘shot’, generally defining one distilled spirit beverage having one shot of spirit. Depending on the geographic location, a shot of distilled spirit can vary. For example, in the US a shot is generally defined comprising between 1.25-1.5 US fluid ounces (37-44 milliliters) of the distilled spirit or liquor.
Customarily, while preparing an alcoholic beverage, a bartender will pour the spirit/liquor using a pourer (also known as a dispenser). Pourers are used for efficiency and uniformity while preparing drinks. This is because a pourer standardizes the flow of a liquid (which would otherwise be dependent on the opening of the bottle), thus giving the bartender uniformity over the time it takes to pour the spirit, resulting in efficiency. Although bartenders can also use a shot glass or measuring cup to determine the volume of the spirit or liquor introduced to a beverage, often bartenders may, intentionally or unintentionally, over-pour the spirit. Over pouring means that more than a shot of spirit or liquor has been introduced in a beverage, while charging the patron for a shot. This usually results in financial loss to bar owners and/or operators. Although, bar operators and managers use an inventory system to keep track of the amount of alcohol consumed, there is generally a problem tracking the employee(s) who cause the over-pour.
Therefore, what is needed are systems, apparatus, methods, and techniques, that can identify when an alcoholic spirit/liquor is being poured along with other pertinent information that can assist a bar manager/operator to track inventory of the spirit/liquor and/or provide data for accountability purposes.